Determination of phytic acid and inositolphosphates in barley

Phytic acid (PA) and lower inositolphosphates (InsP(n) ) is the main storage form of phosphorus in grains or seeds. The content of PA and InsP(n) in different varieties of barley was analyzed by capillary isotachophoresis and online-coupled capillary isotachophoresis with CZE. The electrolytes (in demineralized water) for the isotachophoretic analysis consisted of 10?mM HCl, 14?mM glycylglycine, and 0.1% 2-hydroxyethylcellulose (leading) and 10?mM citric acid (terminating). The optimized electrolytes for the online coupling isotachophoresis with zone electrophoresis analysis were mixtures of 5?mM HCl, 7?mM glycylglycine, and 0.1% 2-hydroxyethylcellulose (leading), 20?mM citric acid, 10?mM glycylglycine, and 0.1% 2-hydroxyethylcellulose (background) and 10?mM citric acid (terminating). PA and all studied InsP(n) were separated within 25?min and detected by a conductivity detector. Simple sample preparation (acidic extraction), sufficient sensitivity, speed of analysis, and low running cost are important attributes of the electrophoretic methods. The method was used for the determination of PA and InsP(n) in barley varieties within an ongoing research project.     

Miscible blends through hydrogen bonding: effects on polymer properties

Miscible blends through hydrogen bonding have been intensively studied. The effects of a variety of miscible hydrogen bonded polymer blends on properties such as thermal and thermal oxidative stability, moisture sensitivity, modulus and glass transition temperature are discussed. In addition, the preparation of semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) and studies of the effect of crosslinking on the miscibility in hydrogen bonded polymer blends are reviewed.     

Cooperativity in ordinary ice and breaking of hydrogen bonds

The total interaction energy between two H-bonded water molecules in a condensed phase is composed of a binding energy between them and an energy due to a cooperative effect. An approximate simple expression is suggested for the dependence of the interaction energy between two H-bonded water molecules on the number of neighboring water molecules with which they are H-bonded. Using this expression, the probabilities of breaking a H bond with various numbers of H-bonded neighbors are estimated. These probabilities are used in computer simulations of the breaking of specified fractions of H bonds in an ordinary (hexagonal) ice. A large "piece" of hexagonal ice (up to 8 millions molecules) is built up, and various percentages of H bonds are considered broken. It is shown that 62-63% of H bonds must be broken in order to disintegrate the "piece" of ice into disconnected clusters. This value is only a little larger than the percolation threshold (61%) predicted both by the percolation theory for tetrahedral ice and by simulations in which all H bonds were considered equally probable to be broken. When the percentage of broken bonds is smaller than 62-63%, there is a network of H-bonded molecules which contains the overwhelming majority of water molecules. This result contradicts some models of water which consider that water consists of a mixture of water clusters of various sizes. The distribution of water molecules with unequal probabilities for breaking is compared with the simulation involving equal probabilities for breaking. It was found that in the former case, there is an enhanced number of water monomers without H bonds, that the numbers of 2- and 3-bonded molecules are smaller, and the number of 4-bonded molecules is larger than in the latter case.     

Development of a formulation of Pirodavir using 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

Pirodavir, 4-[2-[1-(6-Methyl-3-pyridazinyl)-4-piperidinyl]ethoxy]benzoic acid ethyl ester, is an antiviral compound which has low aqueous solubility (<0.01 mg/ml). The compound is a weak base (pKa 5.8) with high lipophicity (logP 4.44). Ionization of the compound increases the solubility in acidic medium to 2.3 mg/ml at pH 2.4. However, a low pH is not acceptable for nasal application as this would induce irritation. Extensive solubility studies were performed using different types of substituted cyclodextrins in order to select an appropriate derivate capable of increasing solubility to an acceptable level for formulations for nasal application. Aqueous solubility of pirodavir increased in a linear fashion with increasing concentration of most of the substituted cyclodextrins. However, using 2-hydropropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) the solubility increased in a non-linear fashion. Based on these studies HPBCD was selected as the most appropriate excipient. To support a clinical study on the treatment of rhinovirus cold by intranasal Pirodavir formulations were developed containing up to 5 mg/ml of pirodavir and up to 10% of HPBCD. Stability of the formulations was studied and found to be acceptable.     

Optical properties of human prostate at 732 nm measured in mediated photodynamic therapy

Characterization of the tissue light penetration in prostate photodynamic therapy (PDT) is important to plan the arrangement and weighting of light sources so that sufficient light fluence is delivered to the treatment volume. The optical properties (absorption [mu(a)], transport scattering [mu(s)'] and effective attenuation [mu(eff)] coefficients) of 13 patients with locally recurrent prostate cancer were measured in situ using interstitial isotropic detectors. Measurements were made at 732 nm before and after motexafin lutetium (MLu)-mediated PDT in four quadrants. Optical properties were derived by applying the diffusion theory to the fluence rates measured at several distances (0.5-5 cm) from a point source. mu(a) and mu(s)' varied between 0.07 and 1.62 cm(-1) (mean 0.37 +/- 0.24 cm(-1)) and 1.1 and 44 cm(-1) (mean 14 +/- 11 cm(-1)), respectively. mu(a) was proportional to the concentration of MLu measured by an ex vivo fluorescence assay. We have observed, on average, a reduction of the MLu concentration after PDT, presumably due to the PDT consumption of MLu. mu(eff) varied between 0.91 and 6.7 cm(-1) (mean 2.9 +/- 0.7 cm(-1)), corresponding to an optical penetration depth (delta = 1/micro(eff)) of 0.1-1.1 cm (mean 0.4 +/- 0.1 cm). The mean penetration depth at 732 nm in human prostate is at least two times smaller than that found in normal canine prostates, which can be explained by a four times increase of the mean value of mu(s)' in human prostates. The mean light fluence rate per unit source strength at 0.5 cm from a point source was 1.5 +/- 1.1 cm(-2), excluding situations when bleeding occurs. The total number of measurements was N = 121 for all mean quantities listed above. This study showed significant inter- and intraprostatic differences in the optical properties, suggesting that a real-time dosimetry measurement and feedback system for monitoring light fluences during treatment should be considered for future PDT studies.     

Surface layering in ionic liquids: an X-ray reflectivity study

The surface structure and thermodynamics of two ionic liquids, based on the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations, were studied by X-ray reflectivity and surface tensiometry. A molecular layer of a density approximately 18% higher than that of the bulk is found to form at the free surface of these liquids. In common with surface layering in liquid metals and surface freezing in melts of organic chain molecules, this effect is induced by the lower dimensionality of the surface. The concentrations of the oppositely charged ions within the surface layer are determined by chemical substitution of the anion. The temperature-dependent surface tension measurements reveal a normal, negative-slope temperature dependence. The different possible molecular arrangements within the enhanced-density surface layer are discussed.     

Generalized synthesis and physical properties of dialkoxy disulfides

A substrate study was undertaken in order to probe the scope of S(2)Cl(2) coupling of alcohols to form dialkoxy disulfides. Compounds 1b and 1f are new; along with 1a, 1c, 1h, and 1j, all of the title compounds are fully characterized, and the yields of 1a and 1c have been optimized from previously reported syntheses. The effect of the R-substituent about the OSSO moiety has been carefully probed as yields vary. A substrate and a solvent study of the coalescence behavior of this class was carried out. The origin of the inherently large barrier to rotation and the resultant thermal decomposition pathway is discussed. Both phenomena are shown to be solvent independent; hindered rotation is substrate independent. The decomposition of 1a is ca. 7 kcal/mol higher than the barrier to rotation about the S-S bond. The combined evidence suggests acyclic unsymmetric homolytic cleavage of the dialkoxy disulfide.